When a vehicle is headed in a substantially straight-ahead direction, the driver may maintain a steering wheel of the vehicle in a centered neutral position. However, in some cases a driver may apply a small amount of force to the steering wheel to prevent the vehicle from pulling away from its substantially straight-ahead heading. This pulling or drifting sensation in the steering system may be causes by various factors, such as crowned roads or steady winds.
Pull-drift compensation is a software-based technology generally suitable for various power steering assist systems. A pull-drift compensation system may detect certain road conditions, such as a crowned road surface or a crosswind, by identifying a driver compensation consistently applied over a period of time or distance of straight ahead driving. Based on the identified driver compensation torque, the pull-drift compensation system may learn an amount of pull-drift compensation to automatically apply to the steering system. Once the pull-drift compensation learns an appropriate amount of force to apply, the system may apply the amount of force automatically using the power steering assist, thereby relieving the driver from continuing to apply a force to preserve a straight-ahead heading. Accordingly, pull-drift compensation may reduce a source of annoyance for many drivers faced with uneven roads or crosswinds.